Youth Football Coach Discontinues Gift Card Practice After Complaints

Kids Received Cards For Playing Well

WEST HARTFORD — One coach's practice of handing out gift cards as a reward to those who played well has sparked controversy in the West Hartford Youth Football League, prompting one board member to resign.

Stephen Merkel, assistant coach of the Chargers in the league's Pony Division, said he decided to give out gift cards after his son, a member of the team, suggested it might help the seventh- and eighth-graders focus.

Merkel and League President Walter Hussey said Merkel's intentions have been misconstrued, and that he stopped handing out gift cards after it became an issue within the league.

"There's been a lot made out of nothing and it was taken care of and corrected quickly," Merkel said.

Brian Cohen, who was a vice president in charge of by-laws and scheduling, left the board last week.

"I stepped down because it came to light that a coach had been providing monetary incentives to his players for upwards of three weeks," Cohen said on Thursday. "I asked the board to act and put sanctions in immediately, and there were a few people on the board who were unwilling to act immediately."

The league by-laws, which are available on its website, do not mention incentives or rewards.

"As a parent and a [school] administrator, I find the behavior unethical and immoral, and I didn't think I could be part of the board any longer without taking a stand," he said. Cohen is head of the family and consumer science and business education departments at Conard High School, according to the school's website.

Merkel, who is also director of the Midget Division, maintains that the practice was blown out of proportion.

"The kids were not concentrating like they could have or should have, so I mentioned it to my son. He said, 'Why don't you give them a couple gift cards,' " Merkel said. "The kids that really do their plays correctly, don't go offsides, make their blocks, make their tackles, they'll be eligible for a gift card to GameStop.

"It immediately got their attention," he said.

The players did better, and Merkel said he awarded four or five gift cards valued at $10 or $20 to players the first week. The next week, "they all played well," he said, so he gave out 10.

After that, a concerned parent told Hussey what was going on.

"As soon as I found out about the problem from a concerned parent, I approached the coach and told him it wasn't in the best interest of the league for the practice to continue," Hussey said.

Hussey asked Merkel to send out an email to parents of his players explaining what happened "so they were 100 percent clear," Hussey said.

"We have been giving game stop cards for either $25 or $50 values to players that have performed the best and made an impact on the game," Merkel wrote in the email, dated Oct. 1.

"Anyone can get an award and thru the first 3 games, 11 different kids have received awards," Merkel wrote. "The incentive is an incentive for performance and is not a give one to everyone program."

According to the email, one player received a $25 card and another received a $50 card after the first game; 10 players received cards valued at $25 each after the second game; and two players received $25 cards and one received a $50 card after the third game.

"Our hope is that with the extra incentive it will raise all the attention to play well on every play and that every boy will win one, but only if he deserves it," Merkel wrote. "It has never been, nor ever will be a program to have any boy do anything that is not appropriate."

All but two parents "thought it was great," according to Merkel.

"It wasn't done again and hasn't been done since," Hussey said.

Hussey said youth sports coaches often provide incentives to players, whether it's a pizza party, stickers, or even team gear.

"This stuff happens all the time. Where do you draw the line?" Hussey said. "I think this story has taken on a life of its own and is a total distortion of the truth."

"It's been misconstrued as a bounty program, pay-for-play … It was strictly a one-off incentive," Merkel said. "Eighteen of 20 parents thought it was a great idea, but instead of going with the majority, we decided to stop it."